Hydraulic saddle



Feb. 28, 1939. 8 G. TOMSIC 2,148,788

HYDRAULIC. SADDLE Filed March 5, 1938 BY '6L/y ATTORNEY.l

Patented Feb. 28, 1939 f i I- 2,148,788

rUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HYDRAULIC SADDLE Guy Tomsic, Oceanside, N. Y.

Application March 5, 1938, Serial No. 194,181

3 Claims. (Cl. 223-13) The purpose of this invention is to improve ber bag attens the strips, and thereby fills the forms, blocks, or devices upon which hats are openings so that it has been found necessary to formed, which are commonly known as saddles, form these openings through the inner rubber by covering the foundation material with a ma-l foundation layer of material instead of on the 5 terial that will not wear at the corners, and that surface of the saddle. 5 willflast the entire life of the saddle, and also to One object of this invention is, therefore, to improve the means for relieving the vacuum beimprove saddles for forming hats of this type by tween the saddle and pressure applying means. completely covering the surface of the crown The invention is ahydraulic saddle upon which which engages the material of the hat with a 1o hats are formed which uses a relativen heavy material Capable 0f absorbing moisture and heat, 10 layer of rubber as afoundation material, and proand Which aCS aS an inSulitOI fOr the rubber tects the rubber on the under side with a layer foundation. of canvas, and on the upper side, upon which the Another object is to provide a suitable coverhat is formed, with a continuous layer of wool ing for crowns of hat saddles which has sufficient l5 felt protecting the hat material from the rubber, stability or toughness to remain on the corners 15 and a relatively heavy rubber tubing in the rubor sharp edges.

ber foundation material of the saddle extending Another object is to provide a suitable covering from the edge of the brim to the crown and to for crowns of hat saddles which does not adhere points in the brim. to the material of the hat..

2U Saddles of this type, and substantially of the Another object is to provide a saddle for hats 20 same construction, have been in use in the milliand the like in which the foundation material is nery trade for twenty ve to thirty years, howprotected by a protective covering extending subever, these saddles are generally formed with a stantially continuous over the inner and outer foundation layer of rubber, and this is covered surfaces.

with canvas or felt, however, felt has only been Another object is to provide a vent for saddles 25 used on the brim, and the canvas covering the which is formed in the foundation layer so that crown wears olf, particularly at the edges or corit will not close by pressure. v ners, and in many cases the rubber edges are ex- A further object iS t0 plOVdE means fOI r6- posed after the rst hat is formed thereon, and lieving the vacuum on the inner surface of a sadk the high temperature causes the exposed rubber dle for forming hats which may be built into 30 to be vulcanized to the inner surface of the hat the saddle. so that it is diiiicult to remove the hat from the And a still further object is to provide a hy form, and often requires cleaning after it is redraulic saddle of the type used for forming hats moved, whereas, by covering the crown with felt, in which the foundation material of the crown 3;,v and particularly wool felt, the felt wears indeis positively protected, and also in which means 35 nitely and does not wear olf at the corners even is provided for positively relieving a vacuum on at high temperatures, so that the rubber is prothe inside of the Crown tected from the heat, and its life is, therefore, With these ends in View the invention embodies much longer and at the Same time the rubber a saddle for hats and the like comprising a foundoes not come into contact with the hat material, ation member preferably of rubbers a layer of 40 tnd the hat may be very easlly removed there canvas substantially covering the under surface rom' Another ess'intla'l feature m removmg hats thereof, a layer of felt completely covering the frflior saddles of this type 1s 1n the fact that the upper Surface or the Surface that engages the ru er bag or pressure form fills the entire intenor of the Crown and, when the pressure is hat, covering both the crown and brim, and vents 45 in the foundation member extending from the rsl Illslsbgcrlg allevgeague edge of the brim to the inner portion of the crown. terior of the crown by a corrugated strip of rub' Ome? features and advantages. of the lwnber vulcanized to the surface of' the saddle, howhun Wm appear ,fromfme fOHOWm? descrlpmorf ever, it will be noted in many saddles now in use tak@ m Connetlon with the drajwmg wherein' 50 that these strips of corrugated material, or with Flgue 1 1S a VleW 5h0W1-ng a typlcl Saddl? Wth holes extending therethrough, have been multithe edge turned up ShOWlng a fabric' @Overlng Orl plied by placing similar strips at several points, the und?? Surface. and they have even been placed across the inte- Figure 2 is a section through a portion of a 55.5 rior of the crown because the pressure of the rubsaddle, showing the relative thicknesses of the material exaggerated for the purpose of illustration.

Figure 3 is a similar view showing an alternate design in which the layer of fabric on the under surface extends continuously through the inside of the crown.

Figure 4 is a plan View showing the under surface of the saddle with vent tubes extending therethrough.

Figure 5 is a detail showing a section through a portion of the saddle, showing the arrangement of the vent tubes.

Figure 6 is a cross section through a portion of the saddle, showing a section through the vent tubes.

In the drawing the saddle is shown as it may be made, although it will be understood that only one design of saddle is illustrated, and these saddles are formed in different designs for forming hats of various designs. However, in the design shown, the saddle is formed with a foundation layer of rubber, as indicated by the numeral I, a complete covering of felt, as indicated by the numeral 2, and a covering of canvas on the under surface, as indicated by the numeral 3.

The canvas is shown extending only over the under surface of the brim portion 4, with the edges thereof extending upward into the crown in Figure 2, and it will be understood that this layer of canvas may also extend upward forming a complete covering for the inner surface of the Heretofore this crown portion has been coV- ered with a thin layer of canvas, and when this is vulcanized to the rubber it merely forms aY binder, and, as it has been found Very dimcult to shape the convas over the corners or edges of an odd shaped crown, these edges are very often uncovered so that the rubber is exposed, and, as the high temperature causes the rubber to vulcanize, it adheres to the hat and makes it very difficult to remove the form, whereas, with these edges completely covered by a relatively heavy layer of wool felt, the felt not only functions as an insulator protecting the rubber from the heat,

but absolutely prevents any contact whatever between the rubber and the hat material.

'I'he space inside of the crown is filled with a rubber bag containing Water, or a suitable iiuid, and, when this is enclosed in the machine, pressure is applied to the water so that it completely fills the area in the crown, and the pressure forces the material of the saddle against the materialY of the hat, thereby shaping the hat material over a metallic form into which the device is inserted generally in an inverted position.

With the crown particularly as shown in Figures 2 and 3 air may be trapped on the "inside, and any air pockets hold the material of the rubber bag away from the saddle, so that it is absolutely necessary to provide vents permitting the escape of the air, and also permitting air to enter the crown and the area between the brim and bag after the hat is formed, and as the rubber bag is removed, and, whereas grooves have been placed on the surface of the saddle, they are exposed to the pressure and are flattened thereby, so that, in this device, relatively hard rubber tubes 9 and III are embedded in the foundation layer of rubber, and these tubes are provided with relatively small openings II. The tubes 9 extend from the outer edge of the saddle I2, shown in Figure 4, to points I3 on the inside of the crown, extending continuously through the brim and downward into the crown, as also shown in Figure 5. The tubes Ill are somewhat shorter and extend from the outer edge of the brim to points I4, about mi-dway thereof, and it will be understood that these tubes may be positioned at other points in the brim if desired, to permit the escape of air, and to relieve the vacuum at anyy openings therein would be closed by the vulcanizing process, so that in manufacturing the saddles it is necessary to place waxed metal rods or wires through the tubes, and, after the complete saddle is formed, these wires may be withdrawn. These saddles have also been formed by inserting rods of a soft metal in place of the entire rubber tubes, and, after the saddle is vulcanized, these rods are withdrawn and the tubes inserted.

It will be appreciated, therefore, that the tubes may be embed-ded in the saddle in any manner or by any means. It will also be understood that any number of tubes may be used, and these may be located at any point or points'throughout the brim and crown, and openings may be provided to permit the escape of air or to relieve the vacuum at any point or points.

It will be understood that other changes may Abe made in the saddle without -departing from the spirit of the invention. One of which changes may be in the use of a saddle of any other shape or design, another may be in the use of any other material in place of the felt by which the foundation material may be completely covered and insulated, and still another may be in the use of any other material on the under side of the saddle.

The construction will be readily understood from the foregoing description. In use the saddle may be formed as shown and described, and, with saddles formed in this manner, the material of the hat may be placed over the saddle, and the saddle may then be inverted and placed in the hydraulic machine so that, when the pressure is applied, the air in the crown will be immediately forced out, and the material of the hat will be readily shaped or formed. The saddle and hat may then be removed from the machine, and, as the material of the hat is absolutely protected from the rubber of the saddle, it may readily be removed therefrom, and, as the rubber of the saddle is completely covered and protected by a substantial layer of wool felt, the heat used in forming the hat will lnot penetrate to the rubber, or, at least, will be restricted so that the rubber will be insulated from the extreme heat. The life of the rubber is, therefore, materially extended, and, at the same time, the material of the hat is protected therefrom.

Having thus fully described the invention, what Patent, is:

1. A hat saddle comprising a foundation layer of rubber or the like, a canvas covering on the underside of the said layer of rubber, a felt covering extending continuously over the upper surface of the crown and brim portions of the said layer of rubber, and air escape tubes extending from the outer edgekof the brim portion of the saddle to the interior of the crown and opening into the said interior, said tubes embedded in the said foundation layer of rubber or the like.

2. A saddle for forming hats or the like having a croum and brim, characterized in that the foundation material of the crown is completely covered on the surface that normally engages the hat with a layer of absorbent and protective material, and air escape tubes embedded in the said foundation material extending from the outer edge of the brim to the crown.

3. A saddle, as described in claim 2, in which the said air escape tubes also extend to points 10 intermediate of the brim.

GUY TOMSIC. 

